Bobbin-cleaning apparatus for use on automatic weft replenishing bobbin-changing loom



March 1941- D. CLOUGH ETAL-' 2. 34.300 BOBBIN-CLEANING APPARATUS FOR USE on AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLENISHING BOBBIN-CHANGING LOOIIS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 0st. 10, 1938 21 AWE 3555; Oslo e40 B. BZflC/(Br/E/V 1 W &5

March 11, 1941. D. CLOUGH EI'AL 2,234,300 BOBBIN-CLEANING APPARATUS FOR USE ON AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLENISHING BOBBIN-CHANGING LOOKS Filed 001,. 10, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOBBIV-CLEANING APPARATUS FOR USE ON AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLENISHING BOBBIN-CHANGING LOOMS Yorkshire, England Application October 10, 1938, Serial No. 234,308 In Great Britain October 15, 1937 8 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for automatically cleaning or removing the residue of yarn left on a bobbin after discharge from an automatic weft replenishing bobbin-changing loom. The apparatus provided in accordance with this invention may be arranged so as to clean the bobbins as soon as they leave the loom and without damaging the bobbins, which are ready for use again immediately they are delivered by the cleaner. The yarn is not subjected to a stripping action which is likely to tear it to lint form so that the waste yarn is recovered substantially intact. Cleaning by hand or by a separate machine is thus entirely superseded by the use of apparatus'of simple construction as hereinafter more particularly described.

The bobbin cleaner according to the present invention consists broadly of means for temporarily arresting the discharge bobbin in its passage through the cleaner, means for unwinding the waste yarn from the bobbin while the latter is thus temporarily arrested and before or while it continues on its discharge movement. Means may be provided for temporarily gripping or holding the loose end of the residue of weft yarn during the unwinding operation.

A preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of an attachment for an automatic bobbin-changing loom (e. g. Northrop loom) is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-section through the bobbin cleaner.

Figure 2 is a plan View looking in the direction of arrow II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking in the direction of arrow III of Figure 2; and,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation looking in the direction of arrow IV of Figure 2.

The bobbin with the residue of yarn still in position and the yarn end trailing therefrom is received by a chute I provided at one end of the casing 2 of the attachment. The attachment is supported by the loom frame in such manner that the bobbin-receiving chute I is located so that when the loom sley is in the bobbin-changing position an empty bobbin which has been forced through the bottom of the loom shuttle by a full bobbin from the bobbin magazine or battery and which displaces the empty bobbin under the action of the transfer hammer, drops down the discharge chute on the sley into said cleaner chute I. The bobbin battery, transfer hammer mechanism and bobbin discharge chute of the loom form no part of the present invention and are accordingly not illustrated. The cleaner receiving chute I is so shaped as to guide the entering bobbin 3, which normally drops from the shuttle with base downwards, on to an. apron conveyor consisting of an endless band '4 of card clothing extending between'a pair of supporting rolls 5 disposed transversely of the casing 2 of the cleaner. The cleaner chute I may be made adjustable to ensure correct feeding of the entering bobbin 3 to the conveyor 4. The cardcloth apron 4 is slightly inclined and above its upper end or half is resiliently mounted a member for taking hold of and holding the loose end of the residue of yarn on the bobbin. This yarnholding member is preferably in the form of a yielding or flexible (e. g. rubber) plate 6, but may consist of a freely revoluble roller covered with card clothing. In addition to being resiliently mounted this yarn-holding member may have an elevating swinging motion imparted to it periodically.

The surface of the apron conveyor 4 may be arranged (for example, by providing one or more gaps 1 or recesses in the card clothing) so as to urge forward the bobbin 3, hitherto riding within the chute I upon the receiving end of the conveyor until the base 8 of the bobbin 3 (which had entered and has now left one of the gaps I or recesses in the apron surface) is arrested temporarily by a movable stop 9. At this position oftemporary rest the base 8 of the bobbin 3 is situated above the bite of a pair of nipping rolls Ill-II, the tops of which are substantially in alignment with the upper surface of the apron 4. These rotating nipping rolls I-II entrain.

the yarn I2 (the loose end of which is held by the card-clothing of the apron 4 on to which it has been pressed by the holder 6) and draw same down between them from off the bobbin 3 as it is leaving the cleaner. The drawn-01f yarn is deposited by the nip rollers Ifl- -II into a suitable receptacle, not shown.

The gripping of the loose end of the yarn I2 by the holder 6 is preferably effected simultaneously with the removal of the stop member 9 to allow the temporarily arrested bobbin 3 to continue its journey. This stop member may be and preferably is in the form of a smaller diameter roller normally resting upon the periphery of the outermost nip roller I I (i. e. the nip roller nearer the discharge end of the cleaner and remote from the apron conveyor 4). In this case the smallbobbin-stop roller 9 and the yarn holder 5 may be mounted on opposite ends of a pivoted frame I3 which is tilted periodically by the engagement of an arm I 4 mounted on the spindle I5 of the pivoting'frame I3 by means of a cam I6 which is carried on the spindle ll of one of the rotating apron-supporting rollers 5. As the frame I3 tilts it raises the bobbin stop roller 9 to allow the bobbin 3 to fall through guides I8 into a collecting bin (not shown) and simultaneously lowers the yarn holding member 6 so that the residue of yarn is not allowed to leave the cleaner on the discharging bobbin.

the bobbin.

made of a material suited to the yarn dealt with, and in some cases may be provided with a cardof said roller II, and this rotarymotion is trans-,

mitted to the roller [9 and one of the conveyor rollers by means of apair of toothed gears 22, a chain belt 23 and sprocket Wheels 24.

The function of the member 6 is two-fold,

namely, to act as a temporary stopto the bobbin when the latter is thrown into the chute andto press the trailing yarn end into contact with the carded conveyor 4. The sequence of operations is as follows: The bobbin 'is ejected by known means from the'bottomless shuttle in the;loom

and drops into the chute of the apparatus. Since the plate '6 and roller 9 are supported by the opposite ends of rocker l3 one is raised while the other is lowered, so that when the plate 6 is lifted it allows any bobbin resting in the chute to drop down into contact with the carded conveyor 4, whereby the bobbin 3 is carried forward .until arrested by the lowered roller 9, the loose end of the Waste yarn on the bobbin 3 trailing along the conveyor 4. When, by reason of cam l6, operating the rocker I3, the roller 9 is lifted to allow the bobbin 3 to leave the apparatus, the plate 6 is simultaneously lowered, thereby press- .ing the trailing yarn into contact with the conveyor 4. The points or needles of the carded material cause the yarn to adhere to the coniyarn carried away with the bobbin is drawn back veyor 4 to prevent the bobbin 2 carrying all the Waste yarn with it. The primary function of the plate 5 is, therefore, to press the yarn" end into adhering contact with the conveyor surface, although it plays some part in preventing the yarn end passing out of the apparatus with Actually the member 6' would be ed surface. The discharged bobbin 3 may carry some yarn with it, but'the grip of the carded conveyor 4 is sufficient to hold the yarn so that the bobbin 3 generally spins round in order to free itself from the held yarn. As the bobbin passes over and beyond the roller II the upper portion of said roller H (which moves in a direction counter to" the direction of advance of the yarn by the conveyor 4) resists advance of the yarn thereover and, in fact, acts to move the yarn in a direction counter to the direction in which its trailing end portion is advanced by the conveyor 4. As a consequence there is formed in the yarn, between the conveyor 4 and the roller I I, a loop which is caused by the rollers l0 and H to be carried between said rollers and thereby be pulled from the conveyor 4 andthe bobbin and to be discharged beneath said rollers.

On some occasionsthe rollers H), II deal With the yarn entirely before the bobbin leaves the apparatus, and on other occasions the portion of by the rollers III, II.

The frame I3 is resiliently mounted by connecting a tension spring 25 to an arm 26 secured to the frame spindle l 5.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for automatically cleaning removing the residue of yarn left on a bobbin .after discharge from an automatic weft-replenishing bobbin-changing loom, comprising, a cleaner receiving chute into which the yarn the discharge end of the said web, a cam actuated rock shaft, arms extending in opposite directions substantially radially of said shaft, a

stop member. carried by one of said arms and in engagement with the last one of the pair of rolls for temporarily arresting the movement of the bobbin by engaging'the base thereof, yarn gripping means carried by the other of said arms and adapted tobe moved down into engagement with the surface of the Web to grip the trailing yarn as said stop member is lifted and said bobbin is discharged from the apparatus, the loose yarn unwound from the bobbin in the zone of said rolls being gripped thereby and completely pulled from the bobbin and also pulled therethrough from the web.

leasing the discharged bobbin in its passage 'through the cleaner, mechanically driven nip rollers for entraining the waste yarn from the bobbin, while the latter is thus temporarily arrested,-so as to unwind the yarn from the bobbin, and means movable to temporarily grip and hold and then release the looseor trailing end of the residue of weft yarn during the unwinding operation.

3. Bobbin-cleaning "apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for temporarily gripping or holding the loose end of the residue of weft yarn comprises a moving gripping surface on to which the yarn end is pressed by a yielding yarn holder. p

4. Bobbin-cleaning -apparatus according to claim 2, including means whereby the yarn-gripclaim 2', characterized in that the means for tem porarily grippingand holding the end of the yarn includes a flexibleplate-and conveyor apron covered with card-clothing.

'7. Bobbin-cleaning apparatus according yarn gripping and holding means are mounted on opposite ends of a'periodically tilted pivoted frame.

.8.'Apparatus for automatically cleaning or removing the residue'of yarn left on a bobbin after discharge from an automatic weft-replenishing bobbin-changing loom, including a pair of oppositely rotating rolls, conveyor belt means for feeding a bobbin lengthwise across the rolls, means for guiding the discharged bobbin from the loom to said conveyor means, and means forv temporarily arresting the passage of the bobbin through the apparatus at the location of said rolls whereby loose yarn unwound from the bob bin and accumulating on said rolls is gripped by the latter and fed to waste between the same.

DAVID CLOUGI-I.

Y OSWALD BOWNESS BLACKBURN. i

9; claim 2, wherein the bobbin stop means and the 

